


A Novel Experience part 2

by SerenStone



Series: Destiny 2 Prompts [16]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Do Not Do As the Warlock Do, F/M, Gen, We Stan Ghosts in this House
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-27
Updated: 2020-02-27
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:48:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,197
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22918741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SerenStone/pseuds/SerenStone
Summary: Prompt: Two Steps from Hell feat. Varien's piece "Millennium Justice"Sequel to A Novel ExperiencePlease Note: Opinions expressed by characters are not necessarily the same as the author's.
Relationships: Female Guardian/Ghost
Series: Destiny 2 Prompts [16]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1583290
Comments: 6
Kudos: 5





	A Novel Experience part 2

Isaac was still and silent through the conversation that happened after the destruction of Panoptes; observing Osiris and Sagira. As the interaction progressed, his disappointment grew and he struck Ikora Rey from his list of people who could be trusted where his Guardian was concerned. Fortunately for Ikora, and perhaps the Vanguard, she was not the offender in this circumstance. 

Osiris was arrogant to the point of weakness. Isaac had yet to see Osiris in combat, though he had seen records. The fact that Osiris had only participated in the fight with Panoptes passively, even when the Infinite Mind had his Ghost in its clutches spoke against him. The fact that he had needed assistance at all spoke against his reputation. Sagira seemed to think herself a balancing factor to Osiris but Isaac saw only an enabler. Her own confidence in Osiris’ capabilities was so high as to become a sort of arrogance in itself. Even with her recent brush with mortal danger, Sagira seemed to consider them indestructible. Their mutual arrogance pointed to a marked lack of suffering, or a misunderstanding thereof. 

They did have quite the reputation, but according to Isaac’s understanding they had been out of the mainstream for a very long time. (He wondered briefly where they had been when the Traveler’s Light had gone out; why they had not emerged to help.) Whatever that Vex-witch Ghost had seen while holding Isaac hostage to control Shry, it would not have been the fullness of Shry’s abilities. The likelihood that Vex could have pushed Shry to the point that she allowed a strange Ghost to be the one supporting her Light was next to nothing. 

Isaac watched Osiris and Sagira walk back into the Infinite Forest as if none of this had happened, as if their apprentice and successor had not conjured up a rescue for them out of nothing, as if a perfect stranger had not risked everything she had to help them. Here was still further proof that the Vex-witch was not fit to be Ghost to _his_ Guardian. 

“Take care of her, Isaac!” Sagira called before entering the Forest. 

Isaac wondered suddenly if this incandescent rage was visible, if his essence were now too large for his shell. He watched the Vex gate’s visual artifacts shift and break apart as Shry said her goodbyes to Ikora. Feeling the weight of Shry’s attention on him, Isaac turned and watched her jerk her head in the direction of the sky. He transmatted them onto the Groundswell Nullifier99 without comment. Isaac immediately headed for his dedicated console on board, going through the ship’s records of the days he had lost. 

“Isaac,” Shry’s voice brought his focus back to the present. She still stood at the transmat entry point. “I’m sorry.”

His stillness fractured and shattered as he jerked in the air, the shells of his plate shifting rapidly. “You’re sorry?” he asked, not quite believing.

Her shoulders slumped in obvious disappointment. “I didn’t- I couldn’t-” she wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“Shry,” Isaac activated his assertive, authoritative voice and he watched her startle when she heard it. “None of this is your fault. I am not upset with you.”

“But I-”

“Did nothing wrong,” he said, tone allowing for no disagreement. 

She was silent a moment before sighing. “I should have found a way to kick her out.”

“While that would have been preferable in many ways that still does not lay the blame at your feet. You did not choose for my shell to be taken from me and you have no way of gaining the knowledge necessary to extract one Ghost from another’s shell without harming either of them.” Isaac watched her sway where she stood, clearly too emotional to comprehend. Gentling his tone, he drifted closer. “You were in an impossible situation, Shry. I’m astounded things turned out as well as they did and I attribute that success entirely to you.”

When she finally looked up he was finally able to sense some of what she was feeling: despair, fear, and horror at what happened to Isaac; agony bleeding freely from the memories of losing Arthil; her relief to have him back twisted up in worry and trauma.

“I am going to murder that warlock,” Isaac said with finality. “It will not be swift.”

Shry started, visibly confused. “What- What are you-”

“Osiris. I’m going to kill him.”

“Osiris is the most powerful warlock in history,” she shook her head. “Why would you-”

“His negligence caused you pain.”

Shry stilled, mouth open, eyes wet. “Isaac,” she barely managed to pronounce his name coherently. He examined their bond to get a better idea of her reaction. She was alarmed for his sake, but awed and touched by his verbal defense of her. (A dark part of him wondered if Arthil would have been angry on her behalf, would have been ready to go to war with Osiris. That same part of him was certain that if Arthil would not have done so then it was better that he was dead, even if it caused Shry pain.) “I- he’s…”

“Necessary, for the moment,” Isaac admitted, with no small amount of irritation. Then he brightened. “Unless we destroy Mercury as a whole.”

“That would destabilize Earth’s orbit,” she noted absently, pulling off her gloves so she could pick at her fingers as she did when distressed.

“Would making a crater out of the Lighthouse and gate zone be more acceptable?”

“Yes,” she managed a coughing laugh. “Maybe we could evacuate the Lighthouse first.” Isaac made a dismissive sound as he recalculated the necessary steps. “Isaac, I… I’m okay.”

“Inaccurate,” he countered. “You are unrested, underfed, only barely hydrated, and still in the throws of a re-traumatizing event.”

She visibly reconsidered. “Fair. I’ve got everything I need to recover and we don’t need to see Osiris again for a very long time. We can run any communications through Sagira-”

“If I never have to interact with that Vex-witch Ghost again, it will be too soon,” he said darkly. “The fact that we share an origin is genuinely distressing to me. The fact that both Osiris and Sagira are highly competent and knowledgeable and uniquely suited to their task is infuriating.”

“Right,” Shry drew out the syllable, before sighing. “Okay, avoiding all contact with Mercury if at all possible.”

“And if needed I will perform my duties with complete professionalism,” he reassured her. “Now, you are going to wash up, eat something small, drink at least a liter of water, and get some sleep.”

“Yessir,” she gave him a sloppy salute and kicked off her boots.

Isaac consoled himself over the delay with the idea of using the Infinite Forest to force Osiris to experience Sagira’s death once for every nightmare and flashback he’d observed Shry have. He would keep Sagira alive for a time, of course. She would be necessary in order to put Osiris through as much pain as he intended to. But a standard human could take a great deal of punishment without dying given intelligent application. When the time came, Isaac would correct their understanding of suffering and he would do it slowly.


End file.
